The Nigerian Navy will today begin the trial of some its personnel and civilians allegedly involved in crude oil theft.
The Information Officer, Western Naval Command (WNC), Commander Thomas Otuji, said in a statement issued Thursday that the court martial of those arrested in connection with the maritime crimes would begin at 9a.m. today.
The trial will take place at WNC Officers Mess, Naval Base Apapa, Lagos State, according to the statement.
Royal Dutch Shell has revealed that the volume of crude oil spills caused by sabotage in Nigeria’s oil-rich Delta dropped by 40% in 2020 to 1,400 tonnes.
The total number of major spills caused by theft and sabotage also dropped to 122 incidents in 2020 from 156 incidents the previous year, Shell said in its annual report.
Shell is the operator of Nigeria main onshore oil and gas joint venture SPDC which has struggled for years to contain spills in the Delta caused due to operational incidents, theft and sabotage.
Ghana’s power utilities regulator, Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC), says it is investigating the recent power outages being experienced in the country.
The commission said it will not hesitate in taking appropriate regulatory action against any utility service provider in the power value chain found noncompliant with regulatory standards and benchmarks.
Several parts of the West Africa nation have been experiencing power outages.
However, the situation was compounded last Sunday when the entire nation was thrown into total darkness.
The country’s power transmission company, GRIDCo, in a statement, explained that its investigation revealed that there was a technical fault on its Prestea-Obuasi transmission lines at about 2:10pm, leading to shutdown of all generating plants at that time.
Reacting to the development, the power utilities regulator, in a statement issued and signed by its Executive Secretary, Mami Dufie Ofori, on Thursday, acknowledged that the outages have been on the increase in the past few weeks.
“The poor service was compounded by the total system collapse that occurred in the transmission network, resulting in a nationwide blackout on Sunday, 7th March, 2021,” the commission noted.
While acknowledging the press release from GRIDCo, ECG, and NEDCo on these incidences, the PURC assured consumers that it is investigating the issue and would take appropriate regulatory action against any utility service provider in the power value chain found noncompliant with regulatory standards and benchmarks.
“The Commission invites affected consumers to submit their complaints to the utility service provider in the first instance, and if not resolved, forward them to the PURC offices in their respective areas for investigation and redress,” the commission concluded.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
Ghana’s newly appointed Minister for Energy, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh has served notice to management of Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) and staff of the refinery that the government will not hesitate in taking action against those whose activity is affecting the growth of the company.
According to him, TOR is a strategic national asset and so the government will keep it and ensure that it grows stronger than it has been.
“TOR is not in a healthy state. And anyone working here…management or ordinary worker who thinks his activity will not lead to the promotion of TOR should find himself a better place to work,” he warned.
Workers of the West African nation’s only refinery, in recent times, have been up in arms with management and Board of the refinery for failing to manage the refinery efficiently.
They accused management of failing to turn the refinery around to bring improvement in their working condition.
In view of this, they demanded the removal of the board and some of the management whose actions, they claimed, are affecting the progress of the refinery.
Addressing management and staff of the refinery at a durbar on Thursday, Dr Matthew Opoku conscientised staff of the refinery that it is not their duty to tell who manages the refinery and who does not.
“It is not the duty of the workers to tell who manages TOR. It is the duty of management of TOR to ensure that TOR grows to become a profitable and healthy entity. And if they are not up to it, then, the owner, which is the Government of Ghana, will do everything possible to bring the necessary changes,” he stated.
The Energy Minister told the gathering that President Akufo-Addo’s vision is to see TOR being run so efficiently to become the premier refinery that is able to export refined product to other African countries.
Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, who pledged the commitment of the government to ensuring that the refinery gets a partner, indicated the government’s resolve to remove those who would be a stumbling block.
The Energy Minister was accompanied by Chief Director of the Ministry, Mr. Lawrence Apaalse, Kwasi Adjei (Accountant of the Ministry), Ernest Wiafe (Internal Auditor of the Ministry),Benjamin Asante (Director for Upstream at the Energy Ministry), Lawrence Lartey and other officials of the ministry.
The Managing Director for Tema Oil Refinery, Mr. Francis. A.T Boateng thanked the Minister for choosing TOR as the first SOE to be visited.
The TOR MD, who described the visit by the Minister to the refinery as both an honour and privilege, said the Energy Minister’s visit emphasised his commitment to helping bring TOR back to life, a promise he gave during his vetting.
Mr Francis Boateng, Managing Director of TOR
Mr. Francis Boateng lauded the Minister for the immeasurable role he played in ensuring that funds were made available to TOR for the purpose of completing and commissioning the second furnace to replace the one which exploded in January 2017.
The TOR MD further thanked the Ministry of Finance and SIGA for their support to Tema Oil Refinery.
He said the completion of the furnace project would return TOR to its nameplate capacity of 45,000 barrels per stream daily, thus, doubling the refinery’s revenue generation potential.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
OPEC said on Thursday a recovery in oil demand will be focused on the second half of the year as the impact of the pandemic lingers as a headwind for the group and its allies in supporting the market.
In a monthly report, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said demand will rise by 5.89 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2021, or 6.5%, up slightly from last month. But the group cut its forecasts for the first half.
“Total oil demand is foreseen to reach 96.3 million bpd with most consumption appearing in the second half,” OPEC said in the report.
“This year’s demand growth will not be able to compensate for the major shortfall from 2020 as mobility is forecast to remain impaired throughout 2021.”
The latest forecasts could bolster cautious views among OPEC and its allies, known as OPEC+, on how quickly to unwind more of last year’s record oil output cuts. OPEC+ last week decided to mostly extend current curbs into April.
Oil held onto most of an earlier gain after the report was released, trading close to $69 a barrel. Prices have risen to pre-pandemic highs this month, boosted by hopes of economic recovery and OPEC+ supply restraint.
OPEC raised its forecast of world economic growth this year to 5.1% from 4.8% as activity accelerates by the end of the first half. Still, it sees the mobility restrictions continuing to dampen oil demand, despite faster growth.
“Oil-intensive sectors, especially travel and transportation, will remain disproportionately affected, with a larger negative impact on 2020 oil demand and a lower positive contribution to 2021 oil demand, relative to global economic growth,” OPEC said.
The report also showed lower OPEC oil output in February as most OPEC+ members returned to output restraint and Saudi Arabia pledged a voluntary cut of 1 million bpd for February and March.
OPEC said its February output fell by 650,000 bpd to 24.85 million bpd, driven by the Saudi move. Riyadh told OPEC it made almost all of the reduction, lowering production by 956,000 bpd to 8.147 million bpd.
Saudi Arabia as part of last week’s OPEC+ decision extended the voluntary cut into April.
OPEC+ cut supply by a record 9.7 million bpd last year to support the market as demand collapsed. The producers as of February were still withholding about 8.1 million bpd.
While those curbs persist, rivals are boosting supply and OPEC raised its forecast of non-OPEC output growth to almost 1 million bpd led by Canada, the United States, Norway and Brazil – although U.S. shale output is still expected to drop.
Partly due to the higher non-OPEC supply forecast, OPEC trimmed its estimate of global demand for its crude to 27.3 million bpd this year. This would still allow for higher average OPEC production in 2021.
Source: Reuters
Ghana’s newly appointed Minister for Energy, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has charged the power sector players to identify the causes of the frequent power outages and resolve them as soon as possible.
He gave the charge when he received officials from three power sector players namely; Ghana Grid Company, Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and Volta River Authority (VRA).
Ghanaians have been experiencing intermittent electricity supply due to some challenges in the transmission sector.
The West African nation was thrown into total blackout after GRIDCo’s Prestea–Obuasi transmission line tripped, causing all the power plants to shutdown.
In a Facebook post sighted by energynewsafrica.com, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh indicated that officials of GRIDCo, ECG and VRA have assured him of their resolve to resolve all the technical issues in order for the country to enjoy stability in electricity supply.
“Constant electricity supply is crucial for our daily activities and economic growth. I have requested that these key institutions in charge of electricity identify the causes of the frequent outages and nip them in the bud. The Energy Ministry is ready to support them to resolve this issue as soon as possible.
“In relying on the technical expertise of our power generators, transmitters and distributors, I entreat all Ghanaians to be patient as the issues are promptly resolved,’’ his post read.
The South African Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has announced the merger of Central Energy Fund (CEF) subsidiaries iGas, PetroSA and the Strategic Fuel Fund (SFF).
The merger will be effective from 1 April 2021 and the new company will be called the South African National Petroleum Company.
The merger, driven by the pursuit of implementing a new company that has a streamlined operating model via the development of a shared services system and a common information platform, comes a few months after cabinet approval and the confirmation that PetroSA had incurred losses of R20 billion since 2014.
Additional factors which prompted the move included the determination to strengthen PetroSA which had not had a permanent CEO in five years prior to the appointment of CEO Ishmael Poolo last and, had become majorly ungainful since its failure to secure gas for the gas-to-liquids refinery project in Mossel Bay.
While the merger deadline has been set, the portfolio committee expressed reservations to the department’s likelihood of meeting the deadline, considering the existing legislative regime, pending issues raised in the SFF and PetroSA forensic reports, as well as PetroSA’s current insolvency and liquidity challenges, the official on the briefing revealed.
“South Africa’s energy sector is entering a new dawn,” said NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber. “With gas discoveries off the coast and the announcement of the REIPPP programme bid window 5 and 6 on the horizon, now is the most opportune time for the merger of the CEF subsidiaries. Of course, it is not an easy task and delays may be anticipated but, this move signals a real change towards a meaningful strategy that will not only be beneficial to the DMRE but to potential investors and local development as well.”
The African Energy Chamber welcomes this move and acknowledges that this is yet another step supporting the country’s determination to restarting the engines of sustainable growth and the transformation of energy policy and infrastructure.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
Saudi Arabia will take the necessary measures to keep its oil resources and facilities safe and ensure the security of global oil supply, the Kingdom’s Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, said on Wednesday, after the latest attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure.
On Sunday, Yemen’s Houthi rebels said they had fired 14 drones and eight ballistic missiles at oil facilities at the Saudi port of Ras Tanura and military targets in three other Saudi cities.
Oil prices spiked early on Monday as markets opened. For a brief period on Monday, Brent Crude prices jumped above the $70 per barrel mark for the first time since January 2020, but reversed gains after it became clear that there would be no disruption to supply from the world’s largest oil exporter.
Since 2015, Saudi Arabia and Iran have been essentially fighting a proxy war in Yemen, where the Saudis lead a military Arab coalition to “restore legitimacy” in the country, while the Houthi movement, which holds the capital Sanaa, is backed by Iran.
“The failed attempts to target the port of Ras Tanura do not only target the security of the economy and Saudi Arabia. They target the global economy and its oil supplies and the global energy security,” Prince Faisal bin Farhan said at a news conference with visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
“The kingdom will take necessary and deterrent measures to protect its national resources to preserve global energy security and stop the terrorist attacks to ensure stability of energy supplies and security of petroleum exports,” Prince Faisal bin Farhan said.
According to the Saudi foreign minister, Iran is supplying the Houthi movement with drones and ballistic missiles.
Saudi Ambassador to the U.S., Princess Reema Bandar Al Saud, described in a statement Sunday’s attacks as “egregious terrorist attacks carried out by Iranian-backed militias against Saudi Arabia, calling them a threat to innocent civilians and an assault on global energy security.”
Source:Oilprice.com
Cairn Energy Plc, one of the Europe’s leading oil and gas firms has reshuffled its portfolio, selling $460 million of assets in the U.K. North Sea and buying projects in Egypt’s Western Desert from Royal Dutch Shell Plc.
Both deals, announced Tuesday and seen completing in the second half of 2021, follow a pickup in oil and gas acquisitions after 2020’s pandemic-driven slump. Cairn’s retreat from the North Sea comes after several other international producers have withdrawn from the aging region. Meanwhile its purchase in Egypt enables Shell to chalk up proceeds in an ongoing divestment program.
“Cairn needed to rejuvenate its investment case, and this move does that,” Al Stanton, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said in a note. “However, shareholders are faced with a steep learning curve” and Egyptian assets typically provide “limited oil-price leverage.”
Cairn tumbled as much as 7.4% in London trading, and was down 4.2% at 190.3 pence as of 11:07 a.m. local time.
The deal in Egypt, back on after delays last year, consists of Shell’s interest in 13 onshore concessions and in Badr El-Din Petroleum Co. The U.K.’s Cairn, together with Cairo-based Cheiron Petroleum Corp., will buy the assets for $646 million and make additional payments of as much as $280 million by 2024, “contingent on the oil price and the results of further exploration,” Shell said in a statement.
The deal “will enable Shell to concentrate on its offshore exploration and integrated value chain in Egypt, including seven new blocks in the Nile Delta, West Mediterranean and Red Sea,” the Anglo-Dutch oil major said.
Cairn, in turn, is selling its stakes in the U.K.’s Catcher and Kraken fields to Waldorf Production U.K. Ltd. for $460 million with a further uncapped contingent consideration dependent on oil-price and production performance. The fields are moving “into decline phase,” the company said.
Cairn will keep some exploration operations in the North Sea, including the Nelson project in partnership with Shell.
Waldorf, which made its first investment in the region just over a year ago, said Tuesday the North Sea is “uniquely suited” for smaller players. In addition to Cairn’s assets it’s also buying stakes in exploration blocks from Delek Group Ltd.’s Ithaca unit, including the Fotla prospect.
Source: worldoil.com
Ghana’s Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia says it’s about time Africans cooperated in the development of regional assets, including establishing refineries and logistical assets.
“We should cooperate in the development of regional assets, including refineries and logistical assets to achieve economies of scale required for commercial viability,” Dr. Bawumia said while delivering a speech as a Special Guest of Honour at the opening of this year’s edition of Ghana International Petroleum Conference (GhIPCON) which went virtual.
The West African nation’s second most important personality noted that the establishment refineries and logistical assets will help the continent to be self-sufficient in such events when national oil companies may not be able to meet the demand of the continent.
He stressed the need for Africans to look within and do business with one another, saying: “We trade about 85 percent with the world but just 15 percent with one another on the continent.
“This situation must change if we are truly committed to Africa’s economic transformation,” he suggested.
Dr. Bawumia said “the outbreak of Covid-19 and the protectionists’ initiatives by the major suppliers to Africa is a wakeup call for African nations to collaborate in building a self-sustaining continent.
“Sometimes, national oil producing companies could not meet the large volumes, but if we collaborate as sector players, there will be a possibility of supplying to the continent,” he said.
The Ghana International Petroleum Conference (GhIPCON) is Ghana’s foremost Petroleum Downstream Conference spearheaded by Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors, where policy makers, industry operatives and experts converge to deliberate on issues of policy and operations as well as share ideas and experiences.
The Secretary General of the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat, Wamkele Mene said he’s optimistic that the various plans put in place by the African Union to move industrialization to the next level will support major transformation in the petroleum sector of Africa.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
The Millennium Development Authority (MiDA), an implementing agency for the Ghana Power Compact II has taken delivery of three power transformers for the Kasoa Bulk Supply Point (BSP) Project in the Central Region.
The equipment, each rated at 145 MVA, were procured through Siemens Energy SAS, Contractors for the BSP Project.
The Kasoa BSP, a Gas Insulated Switchgear (GIS) Substation, is expected to enhance power delivery to the fast growing Awutu Senya East Municipality, which covers Kasoa and its environs. Currently, electricity consumers in the Municipality, experience low voltages and frequent outages as a result of increasing demand for electricity for commercial and domestic uses and the absence of some vital power infrastructural assets.
A Static Synchronous Compensator Transformer (STATCOM), rated at 66 MVA, also procured for the BSP Project, was delivered to the Project Site on February 10, 2021.
“The STATCOM will significantly improve the stability of the country’s power system”, said Ing. William Amuna, Technical Controller at MiDA.
He explained that “the equipment will help to reduce the incidences of transmission grid collapse and the time it takes to restore the grid after any major disturbances in the system.”
According to Ing. Mawunyo Rubson, MiDA’s Senior Project Manager of the Project, “the arrival of these major equipment in Ghana represents a significant milestone for the Project, considering the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic to manufacturing, testing and other supply chain activities across the
globe”
The 435MVA Kasoa BSP Project will be the second largest in the country, after the 580 MVA Pokuase BSP, currently under construction.
Both Projects are part of the major infrastructural investments envisaged under the ECG Financial and Operational Turnaround (EFOT) Project. The EFOT Project seeks to make investments in ECG’s network in order to reduce technical, commercial, and collection losses and improve service quality.
When completed, the Kasoa BSP will improve the quality and reliability of electric power, boost socio-economic activities and support Government’s development agenda in the Awutu Senya East Municipality and the neighboring communities. By reducing transmission and distribution system losses suffered by GRIDCo and ECG respectively, the Project will ultimately improve the operational and financial performance of these Utility providers.
Both BSPs are being funded under the Ghana Power Compact Program by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a United States Government Agency.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
A technical team constituted by Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) to investigate the cause of last Sunday’s nationwide blackout in the Republic of Ghana has recommended the expeditious completion of the ongoing work on the 330kV Anwomaso-Kintampo transmission line.
The team believes that the completion of the line will reduce loading on the Anwomaso 330/161 kV auto transformers and improve system stability during contingencies.
Below Is The Report Of The Technical Team:GHANA GRID COMPANY LTD
A REPORT ON THE TOTAL SYSTEM COLLAPSE THAT OCCURRED ON THE GHANA POWER SYSTEM ON SUNDAY MARCH 07, 2021
1. Introduction
The Ghana power system experienced a total collapse when the Prestea-Obuasi transmission line tripped on a fault while Bui was running in synchronous condenser mode. Loading on the Aboadze-Anwomaso 330 kV transmission line (TT8AW) increased causing overloading on the Anwomaso 330/161 kV transformers. The transformers tripped together with the TT8AW line and caused a severe surge on the NITS. This led to cascaded trips on other transmission lines and generating units in service, leading to a total system collapse at 14:04 h.
Restoration started immediately and by 18:30 h, supply had been restored to all customers.
2. Conditions prior to the collapse
Prior to the system collapse, the power system was in normal operating condition. The state of the generation and transmission system prior to the collapse was as follows:
i. Generation
Four (4) generating units were in service at Akosombo, three (3) units at Kpong GS, one (1) in synchronous condenser mode at Bui, three (3) units each at TAPCO and TICO, one (1) unit at KTPP, two (2) units each at Cenpower and Amandi, seven (7) units at Sunon Asogli and twenty-four (24) units at Karpower.
The total system generation was 2,315 MW.
ii. Transmission
All transmission lines were in service at the time of the incident except the Volta-Achimota transmission line No. 2 (V19H) which was out of service to provide safe working space to erect a tower for the new Volta-Accra East-Achimota transmission corridor upgrade project.
The voltage at Volta was 160 kV. The Ghana-Cote d’Ivoire interconnection was in service with inadvertent export of 39.9 MW to CIE. Power exports were as follows:
• SONABEL: 45.6 MW
• CEB: 67.7 MW
3. Sequence of events
At 13:46 h, the Prestea-Obuasi (P6B) transmission line tripped on a fault.
While the operator at SCC was making efforts to restore the line, loading on the Aboadze-Anwomaso 330 kV transmission line (TT8AW) increased to 450 MW. This caused overload on the Anwomaso 330/161 kV auto transformers (58T3 and 58T4).
At 13:48 h, 58T3 and 58T4 transformers tripped on overload, causing an opening of TT8AW line at Anwomaso end. The TT8AW line tripped at Aboadze end on overvoltage when the Anwomaso end opened.
The tripping of the P6B and TT8AW lines resulted in a surge that caused all generating units in service at TAPCO, TICO, Karpower, Cenpower and Amandi to trip.
At 14:04 h, all Akosombo and Kpong units tripped leading to a total system collapse.
4. Restoration
Restoration was started immediately after the collapse.
Akosombo unit No. 2 was tied to the system, followed by unit No. 4.
Supply was restored to VALCO, followed by Achimota, New Tema and Smelter II. Units were brought online at Karpower and Sunon Asogli and supply was restored to Accra East, Tafo, Nkawkaw, Anwomaso and Kumasi.
Supply was restored progressively as more generation came online and by 18:30 h, supply to all customers on the NITS had been restored.
5. Conclusion
The tripping of P6B line resulted in increased loading on the TT8AW line, leading to overload on the Anwomaso 330/161 kV auto transformers. The tripping of the Anwomaso 330/161 auto transformers together with the TT8AW line resulted in a major system disturbance that led to the total system collapse.
6. Recommendation
The ongoing work on the Anwomaso-Kintampo 330 kV transmission line should be expedited. The completion of the line will reduce loading on the Anwomaso 330/161 kV auto transformers and improve system stability during contingencies.
Ghana’s newly appointed Minister for Energy, Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh assumed office on Tuesday and met with all the directors and unit heads of the Ministry.
Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh took over from John-Peter Amewu, who was the sector Minister from 2018 to 2020.
In a Facebook post sighted by energynewsafrica.com, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh acknowledged that his latest challenge as Energy Minister would not be an easy ride.
He, however, used the opportunity to communicate the President’s vision for the energy sector and sought Ghanaians support in executing that vision.
Napo, as he is affectionately called, stressed the importance of three core principles, i.e. discipline, unity and high work ethics which, he explained would be the building blocks of the Ministry in its execution of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s vision.
Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh in a meeting with Directors and Heads of Units at the Ministry of Energy
“On my first day at the Ministry of Energy as the substantive Minister, I had the opportunity of meeting all the Directors and Unit Heads at the Ministry. I stressed the importance of 3 core principles – discipline, unity and high work ethics, which I believe are fundamental as we prosecute President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s vision for the energy sector. It won’t be easy, but with hard work and collaboration, we should be able to ease the burden on the ordinary Ghanaian in terms of cost of energy. I look forward to a fruitful tenure,” his Facebook post read.
India will levy a customs duty of 40% on solar modules and 25% on solar cells from April 2022, according to a government document and two industry sources familiar with the matter, as it looks to cut imports and boost local manufacturing.
India wants to ramp up its renewable capacity to 175 gigawatts by 2022 and 450 GW by 2030, from about 93 GW currently, as part of its commitment under the Paris climate accords.
“Proposal of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) to impose Basic Customs Duty on solar cells and modules (without grandfathering of bid out projects) has been agreed to by the Ministry of Finance,” the MNRE said in a memo dated March 9.
India does not currently levy a customs duty on imports of solar cells and modules, but has a safeguard duty to protect its local industry which expires in July.
The government spokespeople did not respond to calls beyond usual business hours.
The energy-hungry nation imports most of its solar cells and modules from China, in a bid to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s target of installing 100 gigawatts of solar energy by 2022. Tensions between India and neighbouring China have been high in the recent past.
India is targeting ramping up its solar capacity to 280 GW by 2030-31 from about 39 GW currently, making it over a third of its overall power requirement, according to the memo.
The Energy Minister was accompanied by Chief Director of the Ministry, Mr. Lawrence Apaalse, Kwasi Adjei (Accountant of the Ministry), Ernest Wiafe (Internal Auditor of the Ministry),Benjamin Asante (Director for Upstream at the Energy Ministry), Lawrence Lartey and other officials of the ministry.
The Managing Director for Tema Oil Refinery, Mr. Francis. A.T Boateng thanked the Minister for choosing TOR as the first SOE to be visited.
The TOR MD, who described the visit by the Minister to the refinery as both an honour and privilege, said the Energy Minister’s visit emphasised his commitment to helping bring TOR back to life, a promise he gave during his vetting.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
